Out of this world: Seven-year-old enlists scientists to show he was hit by a meteorite in his front yard
- Steven Lippard, 7, was playing in the driveway of his home in Loxahatchee, Florida, on Saturday when he was hit in the head by an unknown object
- The gash required three staples
- His father, Wayne Lippard, searched the area and found rock fragments, which he took to Florida Atlantic University for testing after believing they had fallen from the sky
- Researchers determined the fragments met all the necessary criterion of a meteorite
PUBLISHED: 18:52 EST, 26 November 2013 | UPDATED: 18:52 EST, 26 November 2013
It's certainly a great story to tell his friends at school.
A seven-year-old Florida boy and his father claims to have been hit in the head by fragments of a meteorite that fell from the sky at the weekend.
Steven Lippard was playing in the driveway of his home in Loxahatchee, a suburb west of Delray Beach, on Saturday when he was struck in the head by a hard object.
His father, Wayne Lippard, found his son on his back bleeding from the scalp, reports CBS 12.
Close encounters: Steven Lippard, 7, from Loxahatchee, Florida, claims to have been hit by fragments of a meteorite while playing outside his home
Ouch: Whatever hit Steven Lippard in the head - scientists are examining the rocks found nearby - left a nasty cut, which required three staples
Examining the evidence: These are some of the fragments found on the driveway where Steven Lippard was struck in the head. Researchers at Florida Atlantic University determined that met the criteria of that of a meteor
The resultant cut required three staples to be stitched up.
'At first I thought it was a golf ball or maybe a bird of prey,' dad Wayne told CBS12 News.
However a search of the driveway produced pieces of a strange rock.
Wayne bagged up the interesting minerals and took them to Florida Atlantic University.
Researchers soon discovered the rocks met the scientific criteria of a meteorite.
A demonstration showed that, despite their small size - less than that of a pea - the pebbles were still highly magnetic.
Proof? Wayne Lippard demonstrates how, using a metal detector, the minerals they found are magnetic
A chemical test will now prove definitively whether the rocks are from space.
Astronomer Phil Plait said it was almost impossible to calculate the odds of a meteorite striking a human.
Just two Americans have had encounters with them in recent times.
A fragment weighed eight pounds hit an Alabama in 1954.
After the accident: Wayne Lippard took this photo of his son after finding him bleeding from the head on Saturday
Wayne Lippard (right) with son Steven discusses during a TV news interview what he believes happened during the accident on Saturday
Then a 27-pound rock crushed a car in New York in 1992.
As the Lippard family wait for the chemical tests to come back, young Steven is paying particular attention to whether he develops any super powers as a result of the encounter.
Typical meteorites, such as the one pictured here, have seldom come in contact with humans in recent years
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